9,000 School Children To Be Trained To Protect Ireland's Bees And Pollinators

The 2025 Pollinator Project was launched today by Minister of State at the Department of Housing, with Special Responsibility for Biodiversity, Christopher O’Sullivan T.D. This year’s project will see 9,000 school children across Ireland being trained as pollinator ambassadors. The Pollinator Project is Ireland’s largest and longest-running pollinator education programme. The project is now open for applications and encouraging schools to get involved.

A collaboration between Biodiversity in Schools and SIRO, Ireland’s 100% fibre broadband network operator, the initiative works by educating and empowering young people on how to protect and nurture the habitats of bees and other pollinators such as butterflies, moths and birds. The initiative actively supports the goals of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan.

This year’s project is expected to engage with 75,000 students overall as it supports participating schools and their wider communities to take meaningful action in protecting Ireland’s declining bee and pollinator populations.

Pollinators play a vital role in Irish food production and agriculture. With 78% of the country’s wild plants depending on insect pollination, according to the National Biodiversity Data Centre. Yet their populations face significant threats, including habitat loss from the destruction of species-rich grasslands, native hedgerows, and trees, as well as a lack of safe nesting sites. In the case of bees alone, half of Ireland’s 100 native species are in decline and a third are at risk of extinction.

Youth education and community involvement can play a huge role reversing pollinator decline. The Pollinator Project is helping to drive this change by equipping young people with the tools and knowledge to make a tangible impact in their schools and communities, including how to create and maintain pollinator-friendly environments.

In 2025, the project aims to expand its reach further. It will do this by providing even more free resources, pollinator toolkits and educational workshops to pre-schools, primary schools, secondary schools, and homeschool groups. Each kit contains essential resources to help students create pollinator-friendly spaces, learn about biodiversity, and actively contribute to conservation efforts. With the project application process now live for 2025 here, schools across Ireland are encouraged to apply for their free pollinator toolkits and workshops, arming them with the assets to create pollinator friendly environments in their school grounds.

Minister of State with responsibility for Biodiversity Christopher O’Sullivan T.D. noted:

“This Project, rooted in local communities through its roll-out in Irish schools, can be hugely impactful and will equip the next generation, the future guardians of nature, with an appreciation of the natural world.

“I commend both Biodiversity in Schools, their corporate sponsor, SIRO, on what they have achieved through this project to date and encourage schools across Ireland to get involved,” added Minister O’Sullivan.

Director of Biodiversity in Schools, Mark Nolan stated:

“We are thrilled to open applications for the Pollinator Project in 2025. Thanks to the continued support from SIRO over recent years we have been able to grow the initiative into the largest pollinator school programme in Ireland.

This year we will be directly training almost 9,000 young people as pollinator ambassadors for their school with an overall reach of around 75,000 students taking bee-positive actions. The project is a wonderful showcase of what’s possible when business and schools come together to take real action for nature”.

Outlining SIRO’s support for the initiative, CEO John Keaney stated:

“At SIRO, our full fibre broadband network is now rooted in communities across Ireland. We see firsthand the ways in which that connectivity can support people to live more sustainably. But protecting and supporting our natural environment is also hugely important to that objective. We strongly believe that business must play its part in reversing the decline in our natural environment and support its renewal for the generations to come.

“Through this project, we want to nurture the next generation of biodiversity champions, empowering young people to respect, protect and preserve our natural habitats. SIRO is pleased to support this valuable work and are excited to see the Project grow further in 2025”, added Mr. Keaney.

The Pollinator Project is now open for school applicants. Schools and teachers who are interested in participating in the Pollinator Project Initiative can find out more details here.